Acer Iconia 6120 Dual-Screen Touchbook Announced

Acer announced the Iconia 6120 Touchbook a cool dual touchscreen laptop and it could have some serious gaming potential, with some further work. At present it is the world’s first and only tablet to offer two touch-enabled 14-inch high-definition widescreen LED backlit LCDs made of ultra-thin Gorilla Glass from Corning.

 The Iconia will come packed with an Intel Core i5 processor and Windows 7 Premium 64-bit meaning that  there is some gaming power there. The top LCD can be used for display while the bottom can be a keyboard or other type of interface. That’s what gives it gaming appeal to me. The changeable touch interface, much like that on the Razer Switchblade.

Featuring an Intel Core i5 Processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 4GB of memory and Intel HD graphics, the Touchbook is equipped for heavy lifting.  In addition, Dolby Advanced Audio v3 brings vibrant sound to business presentations, movies, music, and games.

That Intel HD graphics card will definitely hold back the machine in terms of gaming which is a shame. With a proper discrete video card in the unit it could have offered some seriously cool gaming. But this could be thought of as a first step in that direction.

The Heart of Iconia – the Acer Ring Control Interface

The unique Acer Ring Control Interface makes navigating by touch simple and intuitive.  By placing five fingers in a circular pattern on the bottom display, the Acer Ring appears, providing instant access to favorite applications and features.

From this point, consumers can use their fingertip or launch the virtual keyboard to change the tablet’s settings, surf the web, capture screen images, post photos and status updates to a social network, watch a movie and more, all in the manner most comfortable and natural to them.

Appearing on the either side of the Acer Ring is a unique set of Iconia touch-based applications, called AppCards.  Using a finger, users can scroll to the one they want, and simply tap it to have instant access to a range of compelling programs ideal for either business or home use.

Easy-to-use Tools Make Navigating Intuitive and Fun

Appearing directly on the Acer Ring are a number of useful functions and tools, including Virtual Keyboard, Gesture Editor, Capture, Webclip, Windows Manager and Device Control.  Tapping the desired tool’s icon brings it up for immediate use.

The Virtual Keyboard gives users the ability to enter data and navigate in a familiar fashion.  Combined with its touch capabilities, the Iconia Touchbook is a flexible and powerful tablet designed for maximum efficiency and productivity.  When both palms are placed on the bottom screen, the virtual full-sized keyboard instantly appears.  Adaptive typing and predictive text allows for quick data entry and minimizes mistakes.  A numeric touchpad with handwriting recognition converts handwriting to text.  The palm rest area can also be customized with any image on the computer – a company logo or a scenic background -- so users can personalize the tablet even more.

 Gesture Editor is a simple and quick way to instantly launch specific applications, access favorite websites, or even to lock the computer with a simple finger motion.  A set of pre-defined gestures is included, but customized gestures can be created in just five easy steps.  For example, simply drawing a $ (dollar sign) on the screen can launch a financial or accounting application, or a √ (checkmark) can open a to-do list.

Window Manager provides a touch-friendly interface for controlling the various open windows on the displays.  Users can customize which screen the application appears on as well as its size.

Iconic Gaming Potential?

The Iconia 6120 is being positioned as a productivity tool but if they were to slightly re-think and upgrade the components it could certainly be seen as a potential gaming rig.

The Touchbook includes the new USB 3.0 standard with a top speed that’s 10 times faster than standard USB 2.0 and a 640GB SATA hard drive. Two 2.0 USB ports and an HDMI port are also included.

A 1.3 megapixel HD webcam is ideal for face-to-face videoconferencing or for staying in touch with business associates, friends and family.  Connect reliably with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED or Gigabit Ethernet LAN from work, home or while on-the-go.  Weighing in at just 6.18 pounds, it’s as convenient to carry as any notebook computer, and fits comfortably in a briefcase or backpack.

With an MSRP of $1,199.99, the Acer Iconia-6120 Touchbook is available for pre-sale now and will be available in April at leading retailers nationwide.

It’s reasonably priced for what it holds inside and like I said, re-specing the system a bit could certainly make it gaming worthy. As is, it would be an ultra-cool casual and mid-range gaming machine, just really lacking in graphics and sound.